1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus capable of displaying an image of a broadcast program on a plurality of display panels and a method for controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of TV broadcast programs are available only to particular persons; for example, pay broadcast programs that require special contract and restricted programs that are available only to persons older than a predetermined age. To view such programs, viewers are sometimes requested to input authentication information, such as a password, on television.
Inputting authentication information is a troublesome process; however, once the power is turned off, inputting the authentication information again arises to view the same program again, which may be is a troublesome operation for the viewer. Thus, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-164220 discloses a technology for the viewer to continue viewing a program, if it has become available by inputting a password, without inputting the password when the power is turned on again.
The number of display panels displayed on the wall increases as they are recently becoming thin. For such usage, television sets in which a tuner (broadcast transmitter receiver) and a display panel are separated begin to be used. Furthermore, a configuration in which one tuner is shared among a plurality of display panels begins to be achieved. Such a configuration is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-262526.
As is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-262526, it is expected that display panels having no broadcast receiving function, that is, no tuner, will become common. In this case, a program image that a broadcast receiving apparatus provided separately from the display panel has received is transmitted to the display panel wirelessly or by wire. The transmitted program image is thus displayed on the display panel. Such an independent structure of the display panel and the broadcast receiving apparatus allows a plurality of display panels to share one broadcast receiving apparatus. This configuration may be selected over the installing a plurality of broadcast receiving apparatuses in terms of convenience and cost. For example, at home, a broadcast receiving apparatus is installed in a living room, and display panels are installed in the living room, a bedroom, and a child's room. A program image to be displayed on the individual display panels is transmitted from the broadcast receiving apparatus. By giving an operation instruction to the broadcast receiving apparatus through the individual display panels, viewers can enjoy the same ease of use as with conventional television receiving apparatuses in which a broadcast transmitter receiver and a display are integrated to one.
However, the common use of a broadcast receiving apparatus by a plurality of display panels may pose situations in which viewing programs may require an authentication process, such as inputting a password, described above. For example, in a case where a viewer uses authentication to view a program on a display panel disposed, for example, in a living room, the broadcast receiving apparatus determines whether the program viewing request is given from a viewer who is permitted to view the program using an authentication process. As a result of the authentication, if the program viewing request is given from an authenticated viewer, the program image is transmitted to the display panel in the living room, and the display panel displays the image.
If the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-164220 is applied to the thus-configured broadcast receiving system, a situation occurs in which a viewer who is not permitted to view the program can sometimes view the program. That is, if another viewer in a child's room selects the same program in a state in which the power of the display panel in the living room is turned off, the program image is displayed on the display panel in the child's room without the viewer in the child's room being requested for an authentication process.
This is because the television broadcast receiving apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-164220 assumes only a broadcast receiving apparatus (television set) in which a tuner and a display panel are integrated to one. In other words, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-164220 excludes the operating environment in which one tuner is shared among a plurality of displays, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-262526.
If such a conventional simple authentication process is applied to the broadcast receiving system which is expected to become widespread, a situation in that an unauthenticated person can view a viewing-restricted program occurs. However, requesting authentication every time the power is turned on, as described above, may required a time consuming operation from the viewer.